Wisconsin women’s basketball coach Lisa Stone announced Wednesday three women have signed national letters of intent to play for the Badgers in the fall of 2005.
The signees are Andrea Bankhead, a 5-foot-6 point guard from Hillside, Ill.; Caitlin Gibson, a 6-foot-4 center from Jefferson, Wis., and Chris Spencer, a 6-foot-1 forward from Traverse City, Mich.
“We’re very excited about their additions they bring to the table — depth at each position,” Stone said.
Bankhead is familiar to a number of the UW athletes who played with her as a member of the Chicago Hoops Express AAU team. Considered the top point guard in Chicago, Bankhead averaged 15 points and seven assists per game as a junior. She is ranked as the 38th best point guard in the country by the All Star Girls Report recruiting magazine. A Street and Smith’s preseason honorable-mention All-American, Bankhead was the MVP of the 2003 Adidas Tournament of Champions in Atlanta and is a 2004 Adidas All-American.
Gibson is a decorated two-sport athlete at Jefferson High School. She was a two-time Associated Press honorable-mention all-state basketball selection in 2003 and 2004, who averaged 15.7 points and about 10 rebounds as a junior. She is also the two-time reigning Southern Lakes Conference volleyball player of the year. She is ranked the 49th top center in the country by All Star Girls Report, and is a 2004 Street & Smith’s preseason honorable-mention All-American.
“With Gibson and (Lesha) Jones that gives us that [height] back inside,” Stone said. “It’s not just height, a lot of times it’s the heart of what’s inside. And the kids are really grabbing onto that idea right now and we’re certainly excited for that.”
Spencer is a Wendy’s High School Heisman nominee. She is currently playing her senior season at Traverse City Central averaging 25.8 points 11.7 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, and 3.8 steals per game. She just set the school record for blocks (219 career total thus far) and is two points away from becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer. She is finalist for Ms. Basketball in the State of Michigan. Basketball runs in Spencer’s family. Her uncle, Tom Kozelko, played in the NBA as a forward for the Capital and Washington Bullets from 1973-76.
“We have players with all-around ability,” Stone said. “I’m not going to pigeon hole ourselves into saying we have to have this particular position. I think when a player can play a multitude of positions and can give you minutes in various spots — they’re not just a rebounder, they’re not just a shooter.”
Stone indicated she may sign one more player this season, but it may not be in the early signing period.
